Cost of living comparison
compared to
Tennessee vs. Alabama Cost of Living Summary
Tennessee is 13.5% more expensive than Alabama.
- Restaurants
-
pay 15.0% more in Tennessee
- Groceries
-
pay 3.8% more in Tennessee
- Transportation
-
pay 2.4% less in Tennessee
- Housing
-
pay 28.1% more in Tennessee
- Childcare
-
pay 18.8% more in Tennessee
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.4% more in Tennessee
- Clothing
-
pay 24.5% more in Tennessee
The cost of housing, clothing, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Tennessee are more expensive than in Alabama.
Tennessee vs. Alabama Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Tennessee instead of Alabama, you would:
pay 15.0% more for restaurants
|
Alabama
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.75
|
$18.38
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.36
|
$10.61
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.07
|
$2.84
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.85
|
$2.04
|
|
Alabama vs. Tennessee - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.8% more for groceries
|
Alabama
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.26
|
$3.09
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.23
|
$5.60
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.69
|
$3.94
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.58
|
$4.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.89
|
$5.26
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.45
|
$2.81
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
|
$0.68
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.76
|
$1.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$2.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.27
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.55
|
|
Alabama vs. Tennessee - Cost of groceries
pay 2.4% less for transportation
|
Alabama
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.84
|
$2.85
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$50.00
|
$43.19
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,098.54
|
$32,576.40
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.41
|
$15.68
|
|
Alabama vs. Tennessee - Cost of transportation
pay 28.1% more for housing
|
Alabama
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.63
|
$68.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,036.37
|
$1,440.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$847.06
|
$1,280.54
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$144.14
|
$166.18
|
|
Alabama vs. Tennessee - Cost of housing
pay 18.8% more for childcare
|
Alabama
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,146.13
|
$1,018.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,177.33
|
$22,585.44
|
|
Alabama vs. Tennessee - Cost of childcare
pay 6.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Alabama
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.96
|
$5.33
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.95
|
$5.22
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.76
|
$8.78
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$41.81
|
$36.70
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.07
|
$13.08
|
|
Alabama vs. Tennessee - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 24.5% more for clothing
|
Alabama
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$39.67
|
$50.54
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.87
|
$46.28
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$79.77
|
$94.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$102.17
|
$125.74
|
|
Alabama vs. Tennessee - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: November 2025
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